In the field of cylindrical die roll forming of threads, worms, splines, and similar forms on shafts, to achieve high production it is necessary to have automatic feed units and special fixturing to place the work piece in the rolling area, hold it there during the rolling operation, and eject it upon the completion of the rolling operation. To accomplish these functions at high speed with simple mechanisms and to make them economical to build, easy to set up, operate and maintain, it is desirable to have a rolling machine with a horizontally-fixed rolling centerline. Otherwise, each time a part is rolled the feeding system must accommodate the side shifting of the part horizontally into the dies, and then it must shift the formed part horizontally out of the dies before it can axially transport the part.
In addition, when manually rolling large parts, the conventional two-die rolling machines, in which only one die moves, also must accommodate the side-shift of the rolling axis of the work during penetration. To prevent incorrect location of the initial rolling track requires complex work-holding fixtures which must permit horizontal side-shifting of the axis of rotation while at the same time preventing the rolling axis from going out of parallel with respect to the center lines of the dies.
Finally, if only one die on a two-die rolling machine moves, then the work-support blade must be horizontally adjustable.
To elimate these problems economically in medium and large size rolling machines, while at the same time obtaining other significant advantages, this invention employs a unique, self-centering, double pivot rolling die support system which, combined with a unique gear box arrangement, achieves low production cost, simple economical operation, and great mechanical rigidity.